Product Description The New Polish Music Panorama VI Master and his pupils - 2 AP0109 , DDD - TT: 77'53" Copyright (R)2001/3, (C)2004 World Premiere Recording Marian Borkowski (1934) - Vox per uno strumento ad ottone Piotr Spoz (1977) - Sonata for violin and piano Grażyna Paciorek-Draus (1967) - "Muzyka napotkana" for oboe and accordion Aldona Nawrocka (1977) - "Molecules" for piano Bartosz Kowalski-Banasewicz (1977) - "Epizod" for orchestra Mi-Jin Lee (1973) - "Fala" for clarinet and piano Sławomir Zamuszko (1973) - 3 Preludes for organ Ryszard Osada (1972) - "E-motion" for two accordions and track Boris Alvarado (1962) - "Pazzanti" for piano Dariusz Łapiński (1977-) - "Les Jeux" for clarinet, bassoon, cello and piano Marian Borkowski (1934) - "Dram" for orchestra Piernik Zdzisław, tuba Piekutowska Patrycja, violin Spoz Piotr, piano Wojnowicz Tytus, oboe Koźlik Zbigniew, accordion Esztényi Szabolcs, piano .Orkiestra Państwowej Szkoły Muzycznej II st. im. J. Elsnera w Warszawie, Niżyński Review Acte Préalable is a label I've been following fairly closely since I became aware of its releases in the past year. It has been active in releasing not only neglected pieces of Poland's past composers and showcasing Polish performers, but also has worked to throw the spotlight on contemporary composers, as evidenced by the six discs of the continuing series 'New Polish Music Panorama'. Two discs, subtitled 'Master and His Pupils,' as one would expect, focus on the musical legacy of Poland's schools of composition. Both discs are devoted to the work and pupils of Marian Borkowski, who teaches at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. The opening piece by Borkowski, Vox for optional (?) brass instrument - the notation is such, evidently because the choice of instrument is left up to the performer. Here, the piece is performed by its dedicatee Zdzislaw Piernik on tuba. It's certainly progressive in terms of tonality and lack of classical structure. As far as an introduction to Borkowski is concerned, this is rather arduous, with random - and often quite loud - noises coming from the solo instrument, ranging from difficult and rapid intonations to intestinal rumblings and back. This piece won't be just anyone's cup of Darjeeling, and it wasn't mine. How would the works by Borkowski's nine students fare? Some of them fare quite well, actually. Take for instance, the following violin sonata of Piotr Spoz, which begins with an ominous ostinato that reminds one of Rodion Shchedrin's piano pieces. Turbulent and dramatic, the piece evaporates into the upper registers of both instruments before the second movement, marked Indifferente, begins. This closing movement has an air of indecision about it, and, as the piece builds, certainly does not feel indifferent. An intense and interesting piece, performed with the composer on piano.Paciorek-Draus's Muzyka napotkana makes the unusual pairing of oboe and accordion, in which the oboe takes the majority of the foreground, but over the course of the piece, trades off staccato notes in an intricately timed sort of language a discourse that seem to mimic communication patterns in birds. The two instruments are an intriguing combination, and the score directs the performers to pat their instruments for percussive effects. Following the held last note of the oboe is Molecules by Aldona Nawrocka for prepared piano. This is a work that centres on an obsessively repeating note, treated to be muffled, that serves as a pulse for the first part of the piece. The title of the work appears to be merely suggestive. While quite modern in sound, it has a relatively tight structure; certain sections repeat, separated by fff staccatissimo tone clusters, some lyrical passages that disquiet, and a fairly hefty bonk on the instrument with the hand or foot with the sustain pedal depressed. An exciting and enjoyable work. All but two of the pieces here are scored for chamber ensembles of various combinations or solo instruments. Kowalski-Banasewicz's Epizod for orchestra has its thematic material, which essentially amounts to a frantically-repeated note, and a run up to a new note which is also repeated. The orchestration and feel of the piece reminds this reviewer of a not-so-heavily syncopated Bernstein, or, at the beginning, the 'Maccaber Danse' movement of Lowell Liebermann's first piano concerto. A quieter middle section gathers tension, accelerating slightly, before bursting into major mode. The overall feel is that of West Side Story combined with an occasional dash of the music of Carl Stalling. In a completely different musical direction is Osada's E-motion for two accordions and stereo track, which begins alarmingly with a stereophonically distorted accordion chord. The effect is startling. ... [more] David Blomenberg --MusicWeb International
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